| 1 | 1 | | By: Hefner H.B. No. 4939 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 5 | 5 | | AN ACT |
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| 6 | 6 | | relating to prohibitions on camping in a public place. |
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| 7 | 7 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 8 | 8 | | SECTION 1. Section 364.002(a) and (c), Local Government |
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| 9 | 9 | | Code, are amended to read as follows: |
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| 10 | 10 | | (a) A local entity may not adopt or enforce a policy under |
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| 11 | 11 | | which the entity prohibits or discourages the enforcement of any |
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| 12 | 12 | | public camping ban, including prohibiting or discouraging the |
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| 13 | 13 | | investigation or enforcement of violations of a public camping ban. |
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| 14 | 14 | | (c) A local entity may not utilize a property designated to |
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| 15 | 15 | | be used by homeless individuals to camp unless the department has |
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| 16 | 16 | | submitted and had approved a plan described by the Texas Government |
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| 17 | 17 | | Code Sec. 2306.1123(b). |
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| 18 | 18 | | SECTION 2. Chapter 364, Local Government Code, is amended |
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| 19 | 19 | | by adding new Sections 364.0021 and 364.0022 to read as follows: |
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| 20 | 20 | | Sec. 364.0021 COMPLAINTS AND REPORTING. (a) A local entity |
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| 21 | 21 | | must develop and provide a process for a person to file a complaint |
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| 22 | 22 | | to the local entity regarding public camping. |
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| 23 | 23 | | (b) A local entity must report to the attorney general, in |
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| 24 | 24 | | form and manner prescribed by the attorney general the following |
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| 25 | 25 | | information: |
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| 26 | 26 | | (1) number of complaints received on public camping; |
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| 27 | 27 | | (2) disposition of each complaint, including |
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| 28 | 28 | | court-ordered diversion programs; |
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| 29 | 29 | | (3) number of citations issued under Section 48.05, |
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| 30 | 30 | | Penal Code; and |
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| 31 | 31 | | (4) any other information deemed pertinent by the |
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| 32 | 32 | | attorney general. |
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| 33 | 33 | | Sec. 364.0022. ENFORCEMENT. (a) For a complaint received |
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| 34 | 34 | | under Section 364.0021, the local entity must take an action within |
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| 35 | 35 | | 90 days. |
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| 36 | 36 | | (b) If a local entity does not take action within the |
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| 37 | 37 | | prescribed time the local entity will be deemed a "violating local |
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| 38 | 38 | | entity" by the attorney general. |
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| 39 | 39 | | (c) The attorney general or the Department of Public Safety |
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| 40 | 40 | | may initiate an action to enforce Section 48.05, Penal Code, and |
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| 41 | 41 | | recover any costs associated with enforcing this chapter from a |
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| 42 | 42 | | violating local entity in accordance with Section 321.5026, Tax |
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| 43 | 43 | | Code. |
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| 44 | 44 | | SECTION 3. Section 48.05, Penal Code, is amended by |
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| 45 | 45 | | amending subsection (i) and adding new subsection (k) to read as |
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| 46 | 46 | | follows: |
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| 47 | 47 | | (i) If the person is arrested or detained solely for an |
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| 48 | 48 | | offense under this section, a peace officer enforcing this section |
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| 49 | 49 | | shall ensure that all of the person's personal property not |
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| 50 | 50 | | designated as contraband under other law is preserved by: |
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| 51 | 51 | | (1) permitting the person to remove all the property |
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| 52 | 52 | | from the public place at the time of the person's departure; or |
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| 53 | 53 | | (2) taking custody of non-hazardous personal [the] |
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| 54 | 54 | | property and allowing the person to retrieve the property after the |
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| 55 | 55 | | person is released from custody. |
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| 56 | 56 | | (k) For the purposes of this section, personal property does |
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| 57 | 57 | | not include any permanent or semi-permanent structure other than a |
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| 58 | 58 | | camping tent. |
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| 59 | 59 | | SECTION 4. Chapter 321, Tax Code, is amended by adding new |
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| 60 | 60 | | Section 321.5026 to read as follows: |
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| 61 | 61 | | Sec. 321.5026. DISTRIBUTION OF TRUST FUNDS TO VIOLATING |
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| 62 | 62 | | LOCAL ENTITIES. (a) In this section, "violating local entity" |
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| 63 | 63 | | means a political subdivisions that is deemed to be a violating |
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| 64 | 64 | | local entity for the current state fiscal year under Chapter 364, |
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| 65 | 65 | | Local Government Code. |
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| 66 | 66 | | (b) Notwithstanding Section 321.502, the comptroller may |
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| 67 | 67 | | not, before July 1 of each state fiscal year, send to a violating |
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| 68 | 68 | | local entity its share of the taxes collected by the comptroller |
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| 69 | 69 | | under this chapter during the state fiscal year. Before sending the |
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| 70 | 70 | | violating local entity its share of the taxes, the comptroller |
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| 71 | 71 | | shall deduct the amount reported to the comptroller for the |
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| 72 | 72 | | violating local entity under Subsection (c) and credit that |
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| 73 | 73 | | deducted amount to the general revenue fund. Money credited to the |
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| 74 | 74 | | general revenue fund under this subsection may be appropriated to |
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| 75 | 75 | | the attorney general and Department of Public Safety equally. |
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| 76 | 76 | | (c) Not later than August 1 of each state fiscal year, the |
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| 77 | 77 | | attorney general and Department of Public Safety shall report to |
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| 78 | 78 | | the comptroller for each violating local entity the amount of money |
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| 79 | 79 | | the state spent in that state fiscal year to provide law enforcement |
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| 80 | 80 | | services in that defunding municipality. |
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| 81 | 81 | | SECTION 5. (a) Section 321.5026, Tax Code, as added by this |
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| 82 | 82 | | Act, applies only to a distribution of municipal sales and use tax |
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| 83 | 83 | | revenue to a municipality in a state fiscal year that begins on or |
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| 84 | 84 | | after the effective date of this Act. |
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| 85 | 85 | | (b) Not later than December 1, 2023, a local entity shall |
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| 86 | 86 | | develop and implement a complaint process as required under Section |
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| 87 | 87 | | 364.0021, as added by this Act. |
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| 88 | 88 | | (c) Not later than January 1, 2024, the attorney general |
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| 89 | 89 | | shall prescribe the manner and form for reporting as required under |
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| 90 | 90 | | Section 364.0021, as added by this Act. |
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| 91 | 91 | | (d) This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |
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